An article I've written a few years back...
Drug dependant means a person who through the use of any dangerous drug undergoes a psychic and sometimes physical state which is characterised by behavioural and other responses including the compulsion to take the drug on a continuous or periodic basis in order to experience its psychic effect and to avoid the discomfort of its absence. Drug addiction is a treatable disorder but not easy where the treatment works to reduce drug intake and crimes committed by drug dependant. The concept is more treatment given, better the result.
The ultimate goal of all drug abuse treatment is to enable the patient to achieve lasting abstinence, but the immediate goals are to reduce drug use, improve the patient's ability to function, and minimize the medical and social complications of drug abuse. There are several types of drug abuse treatment programs. Short-term methods last less than 6 months and include residential therapy, medication therapy, and drug-free outpatient therapy. Longer term treatment may include, for example, methadone maintenance outpatient treatment for opiate addicts and residential therapeutic community treatment.
Methods of recovery from addiction to drugs vary widely according to the types of drugs involved, amount of drugs used, duration of the drug addiction, medical complications and the social needs of the individual. Treatment is just as important for the addicted individual as for the significant others in the addicted individuals sphere of contact. Determining the best type of recovery program for an addicted person depends on a number of factors, including: personality, drug(s) of addiction, concept of spirituality or religion, mental or physical illness, and local availability and affordability of programs
Each individual’s experience has quite personal and unique characteristics. It takes a trained professional, either a physician or therapist specializing in addictions, to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the most appropriate treatment program. Drug addiction is much more complex than merely ‘too much drug use’. Drug and substance dependence is beyond the control of the user – he is no longer in control and does not have much choice in the matter of continuing use. Rehabilitation, then, is the path that leads to an effective treatment of drug use. Rehabilitation is the recovery of diminished capacities due to injury or illness. The word itself comes from the Latin prefix re meaning ‘again’, and root habilitates meaning ‘to inhabit’. Thus ‘rehabilitate’ literally means to inhabit yourself again – and that is the aim of rehabilitation: to return former capacities to the inflicted person.
Rehabilitation aims at more than ending drug use. As previously mentioned, rehabilitation cannot be a punishment for drug use. It must be the gradual process of ending dependence while also rehabilitating the patient into society. The rehab treatment center can be considered the umbrella in the stormy weathers. It cannot control the weather, but does shield and help the patient and family on their way through the tempest. A rehab center must be rigid in its aims to help the patient, but cannot be rigid in its process.
Rehabilitation comes in different kind of modules. Statistic and research had shown that the Abstinence approach which is taken by the Malaysian government currently has failed miserably and the time has come to shift to the Harm Reduction module advocated by NGOs and activists both local and abroad. Harm Reduction module has been proven successful in countries like Australia and Europe (use to apply the Abstinence module) in curbing drug abuse as well as checking the spread of HIV and other blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis B and C.
Drug depending had become a major problems for a lot of nations in the world. Malaysian government should apply the best and the most suitable treatment towards the drug dependant in Malaysia. The current treatment seem outdated and not been use in other develop countries anymore as they believe that there are better module. Action should be taken and the module applied should be re-look.
